undeadfanstoriesfandomcom-20200214-history
There Will Be Blood/Issue 01
The Convention is the first issue of There Will Be Blood . Summary The nominees for a prestigious writing award are brought to Los Angeles a week before a creativity convention. Things soon turn sour. Cast Starring Cast *BulletRefutation as Zain Patel *Vauseman as Adrien *RelicRaider as Sean *Lupita Nyong'o as Lupita Nyong'o* *Tsunekazu Ishihara as Tsunekazu Ishihara* *KnowledgeProspector as KP *TheInfected as Danny *Maxwestt as Max *Rose Leslie as Elise Goodman Also Starring *Robert Kirkman as Robert Kirkman* *George R. R. Martin as George R. R. Martin* *Alexanderia Daddrio as Lucille Price* *Jamie141 as Jamie *Fitz0021 as James Fitz* *NOStalgic as Mali* *Rebel Wilson as Ashley Joyce* *Adam Brody as Michael Roberts *Satoshi Tajiri as Satoshi Tajiri* Special Guest Star *Pops Capo as Pops* Guest Starring *Riley Keough as Tanya Foster *Headaches as Willow *Killerskull2 as Killer *TWDFan630 as Nathan *TBA as Aimee Sutton *Sendhil Ramamurthy as Rahl Chandra *Mans Zelmerlow as Mans Zelmerlow *TBA as Sanjay *TBA as Albany Adams *TBA as Tony *TBA as Felicity Zambezi *TBA as Daphne Co-Starring *Alexa Davalos as Marnie *Unknown as Racist Security Guard *Unknown as Reporter *Unknown as Pilot *Unknown as Co-Pilot *Unknown as Rude Flight Attendant *Unknown as "Steve" *Unknown as Caroline * does not appear ** no lines *** voice only The Convention = The Convention. = ' ' ' Three Weeks Before. ' ' ' Sanjay Wilkinson took a deep breath, closed his eyes and checked his watch. 8:01 am. Fuck, he thought. I am late. The tower that his first (and most probably only) meeting of the day had just commenced fifteen seconds earlier, loomed above. The glass panes seemed blinding as he glanced up. He stepped forward and walked towards the entrance of the Marigold Hotel. A young bellhop of Mexican descent opened the revolving door for Sanjay, the golden handle reflecting the morning sun. The bellhop, whose pin-on badge read Steve smiled for Sanjay and opened the door wishing him a good morning. He rolled his eyes and felt smart knowing that Steve was definitely not the name of the bellhop. He walked past the marble reception desk as a woman looked up and called out to him him. “Sanjay!” She called out, flicking a few strands of dyed red hair behind her right ear. “Excuse me, Sanjay!” She repeated, looking towards a young woman with a blonde ponytail and pale skin for advice. The intern shrugged and looked back at the computer screen. The desk phone began to ring and the woman looked at it and back at Sanjay, who had nearly made it to the elevators. She muttered something under her breath as she left the phone and attempted to run in heels towards Sanjay, seemingly her sole purpose in life. “Sanjay! Sanjay Wilkerson!” She called out again, the blonde woman looked up, let out a single giggle and rolled her eyes - all in one swift motion. “It’s Wilkinson, and if you don’t mind, I have a meeting now.” He pushed the up button and faced elevator number three. “You need to sign in at the desk first.” The woman asked. “When does it start?” He looked at his watch for nearly ten seconds before the elevator arrived, conveniently number three. He looked her in the eye and said, “When you bugger off.” ' ' ' Now. ' ' ' Beep! Beep! Beep! The security scanner beeped as Zain’s first bag of luggage went through. The security officer, a woman in her mid 50’s (that easily could have commit fraud for a senior’s discount), raised her limp wrist and dramatically thumped it down on the big red button to stop the bags. She looked over in Zain’s general direction, her eyes narrowing him down through her thick glasses as she chewed something. “Pharmaceuticals are banned unless you’ve got a prescription.” Her southern accent piercing Zain’s ears. She leaned back into the chair and used it to scratch her back. She then scratched adjusted her boobs (almost unnoticeable with the amount of fat covering her body) and raised an eyebrow at Zain - whilst chewing her gum. “So’s tobacco.” A man behind Zain whispered to his girlfriend whilst squeezing her side. The woman turned her attention to the man, who cringed realizing he had spoken a bit too loudly. She moved her wheelie chair back, pulled out a wastepaper basket and spat the gum into it, wiping off the excess spit. The girlfriend looked disgusted, rightly so. “I don’t have any medication on me.” Zain said. He pulled down on his jumper sleeve as the woman rolled closer to him until he could smell her fresh, minty breath. “If you’ll think you can come into our countreh and start dealin’ or bombin’, you betta go back home to your ghetto.” She rolled back in her chair, dead staring into Zain, her brown eyes unblinking. She rocked forward like a whiplash victim as the wheelie chair crashed against her desk. “Continue.” She slammed her fist on the red button and it started up again. ' ' ' When he had grabbed his carry-on bag and placed it in a trolley that smelled like rust, he glanced at his phone and headed to the vending machine to grab some chips before boarding began. Behind him, two people started talking and it only took Zain a few seconds to realise that it was the guy and girl from before at the security check. “You can’t seriously be getting pringles! They make you so sick, and you are not throwing up on me.” She said. “Babe-” She cut him off, laughing. “No, I’m serious!” Zain pressed C6 and was delivered with a his chips. Kettle Sea Salt flavour. He stepped back, giving the couple a smile. “She was a cow wasn’t she.” The girl said, smirking. “You heard what she said to me?” He asked. She shook her head. “Nah, but she saw this.” She raised her wrist and pointed to a rainbow band, the word pride was written on it in white text. “I’m surprised she had the eyesight to see it.” Zain smiled again. The girl ran her fingers through her blonde hair. “I’m Tanya, by the way.” She threw her hand out in front. “Zain.” He said, shaking it. Her boyfriend turned around with a startled expression on his face. “Where are you headed?” He asked. “To LA, for the Writer’s comp.” “Ah, same here.” Tanya flashed a big smile. “Danny here’s a nominee.” She pat him on the back. “It’s a small world after all.” Zain grinned. ' ' ' Three Weeks Before. ' ' ' Sanjay pushed open the door of the conference room. A few people glanced over from where they were seated along the table. Felicity looked up and smiled at him as he walked in. Tony, the chairman for the WCC was standing at the head of the table speaking about pop culture or something. He stopped and looked at Sanjay. “Late.” He muttered, clicking his fingers at Daphne, his assistant. He glanced at his watch. “Time of arrival, 8:03 and… 13 seconds.” Daphne thought for a second. “One hundred and thirteen second late.” She muttered, adjusting her glasses. “Reason?” She looked up at Sanjay, slouching and resting her chin on her arm. “Excuse.” Tony corrected. “What is your excuse then?” He thought for a moment. “The lady in the office. She called me over to sign in.” “And that took three minutes?” Tony asked. “She’s very slow.” Felicity added, throwing the life ring at the drowning victim. Tony clicked his fingers once again. “I didn’t ask you, Ms… Smoak?” “Miss Zambezi.” She corrected. “Mind your own business… Ms Smoak.” Tony turned back to Sanjay. “I had to wait for the elevator as well. Just a bunch of mishaps.” Tony glanced in the direction of the only remaining empty seat. “Well go on. Get seated. Thanks to you we are already behind schedule.” Sanjay mentally rolled his eyes, wasting no time as he sat down and finally gave himself a chance to look up at the projector. The words ‘What’s Hot?’ were displayed on the screen. “George R.R. Martin made headlines last week when he announced that his next book, The Winds of Winter would be completed and then released in October.” Tony said, looking from person to person. A woman in her mid 50’s raised a hand. Tony looked at her and gestured for her to speak up. “Uh, question? He wrote the Game of Thrones books, right?” Tony irritatedly looked around. “We discussed this last meeting. He’s going to be attending the convention to deliver a writing award, alongside John Green who wrote The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, and Robert Kirkman, writes The Walking Dead comics.” “What have they done lately?” The same woman asked. “Do your research, lady!” He exclaimed in response a tad too loud. “They’re making a movie based on Paper Towns and another Walking Dead spin-off or some crap.” The woman blushed and shyly looked down. “Now, what has been in the news recently?” Tony asked. A few of the staff looked at each other before one guy spoke up. “Eurovision?” “Sweden won that right?” Felicity asked and he nodded. “Mans Zelmerlow.” She said and smiled. Tony smiled and looked at Daphne. “Get Sweden on the line.” ' ' ' Now. ' ' ' From a distance the Marigold Hotel looked like it was painted in a tacky and childish yellow, but as the first limo approached, Jamie looked out to see that the hotel was beautiful. The mountainside resort loomed above the streets of Los Angeles, threatening to block out the sun. “Wow.” He muttered breathlessly. “Wow’s right.” His driver chuckled. ' ' ' Outside, a female reporter stood proudly as she reported the arrivals. “We have reports that the first limo is about to pull in.” She said, tossing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She widened her eyes as Jamie’s limousine entered the gates. The cameraman turned his camera to follow the vehicle as it headed to the entrance. “30 seconds, boys!” A security guard in a tuxedo called in his walkie talkie. Two bellhops ran through the lobby in an intense race to the revolving doors, nearly bumping and elderly lady as they charged. “Look, one of them has arrived!” A teenage boy called to another boy his age. “I am just being informed that the rest of the contestants of various awards will be arriving in the next few hours.” The reporter said as the camera turned to face her again. ' ' ' Inside the limo, Jamie took a deep breath as his driver came around to open his door (although the took his time). Braced for the cameras, Jamie jumped out of the door as soon as it had been opened. He waved at the crowd of reports, security guards and everyday people. “Wow.” He whispered under his breath. It sure was a fitting word. “Jamie! Jamie!” An asian reporter called out above the others. “How does it feel to be recognised for your work?” She held out the mic for him to answered, but he was ushered inside by a young woman before he could answered. She had long red hair, that was clearly dyed. She looked like she was in her 40’s, yet had very tan skin. She clearly hadn’t heard of skin cancer. “Oh calm down! He hasn’t won yet.” She called out to the press. She pushed them both through the revolving door and walked into a small corner where the journalists couldn’t see them. “Now Jamie, I’m Albany Adams. I’m basically reporter repellent. You do not talk to the press without my consent, you do not talk to the police without my consent. You do nothing without my word or else hell will freeze over.” She turned and pointed at the hotel desk, or more specifically, the woman at the desk. “You see her?” The woman behind the desk had blonde hair and was at least half of Albany’s age. She looked like she was the polar opposite of Albany with her pale skin. “Her name is Marnie. She will be working the desk twenty-four seven. She will eat there, and possibly sleep and piss there too. So if she is not there, she is probably dead somewhere stinkin’ up the place.” Albany smirked. “Scratch that! If she’s not there, I’ll kill her myself.” She twisted her hands to gesture her snapping her neck. Jamie grinned nervously as Albany started to walk away. “Go sign in now! And you don’t enter or leave the hotel without signing in! Got it?” “Got it…” He rolled his eyes and headed for the desk. ' ' ' Thirty-three minutes later. ' ' ' The California sun was just beginning to heat up. It was 9 O’Clock on the dot and the next limousine was due in. The reports stood around, mostly in silent, with the exception of the few who were giving live coverage for their specific networks. CNN, NBC and Fox News were the stations visible from Jamie’s view from the lobby. Soon the CNN reporter moved to his news van and the reporters from Today Show Australia and Today Show America were chatting. “This is much bigger than I thought it would be.” Jamie turned to Marnie, who was behind the reception desk, just like Albany had promised. “It’s huge. It’s my first time involved in one of these comps.” She smiled. “I kinda wish I wasn’t the first to get here.” He started. “I feel a little awkward just waiting. Awkward and nervous.” “Try not to feel too bad about it, you’ll have a great week or two.” Marnie spun around in her wheelie chair and turned on her computer. “I’ve got some documents to file, I should really get back to that, sorry.” “Yeah no problem.” Jamie turned to look back out the window. ' ' ' “Final boarding call for QANTAS Airlines 9:10 flight to LAX.” The PA announcer called out as Zain, Danny and Tanya walked towards the entry point. “Hi.” Tanya said. The lady behind the desk gave her a smile that was anything but happy and took the three tickets, tearing the tags off and passing them back. “The pilot will direct you to your seats. Have fun in business class.” The woman turned away from them to chat to another flight attendant. “... Wish… I’ll never… buis.. class… exp… sive… fucking award ceremony… uck… America...” They heard the attendant mutter and burst out laughing almost in unison. “It’s so great to finally meet you buddy.” Zain rubbed Danny’s back. “You too Tanya.” He smiled. The continued walking down the corridor until they reached the plane and entered. “Enjoy your flight.” The pilot said and smiled in a much more sincere way. The co-pilot pressed his radio. “That’s the last of them, close boarding. Over.” “Roger that. Over.” ' ' ' The second limo arrived at the hotel nearly five minutes before it was due. The driver wasted no time in jumping out and opening the passenger’s door. It took Jamie nearly a minute to realise who had just arrived. It was Mans Zelmerlow, the Swedish pop star who had just won Eurovision. A bellhop girl grabbed his bags and brought them through the revolving door, frowning as she pushed through. “Mans! Mans! Any word on your career?” The reporter for Good Morning America shoved a microphone at him. “How much are you being paid?” Another reporter shouted. “He won’t be taking any questions now.” Albany ushered the pop star inside in a much gentler fashion, trying her hardest not to glare at the reports who still called out questions. “Thanks for that.” Mans said as they pushed through the revolving doors. “I don’t know how people survive this publicity.” He turned to look at Jamie. “Hi there.” Jamie blushed unsure of how to speak to someone famous. He had met a movie star before, but that was different because they didn’t speak to him first. But now Mans Zelmerlow, teen heartthrob was now in his face, speaking directly to him and him only. Jamie had no idea what to say. “Hi.” “I’m Mans. Mans Zelmerlow, I’m from-” “Sweden.” Jamie interrupted, then felt incredibly awkward. Mans began to smile. “I’m Jamie.” “Right.” Mans turned to look at Albany. “Do I need to sign in or-” “No no no!” Albany spluttered like a fish out of water. “I’ve got that covered. Just feel free to go upstairs and check out your room. Marnie, room card!” Albany got the card off of the intern and handed it to Mans. “Enjoy your stay!” ' ' ' Seven days ago. ' ' ' It was 12:05. Sanjay was late again. Fortunately, this time it was not a formal meeting. Felicity would not be mad at him, though she might be worried. “Steve” was not the bellhop this afternoon. It was a woman. She was also hispanic and had long dark hair tied into a braid. Her name tag read “Caroline”. “Good afternoon, sir.” She smiled and nodded. “That’s a way to put it.” He pushed through the revolving door and stepped into the lobby. “Excuse me, are you here for a meeting?” The blonde intern at the desk asked. Her name tag read “Marnie”, which was probably her name. “No. What made you think that?” He replied. Marnie nodded at her briefcase. “I just thought-” “I just came from a meeting actually.” He lied. “Oh, sorry about that.” She muttered, turning back to her computer. Sanjay preceded through the lobby until he exited through a door that led into the grimy alley. There was a single security camera, but Felicity had carefully found a blind patch of four metres where they could safely converse. “Sanjay.” Felicity said, helping him across to the blind spot. “You had me worried.” Sanjay felt smug. “I called it.” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She looked down at his metal briefcase. “You got it?” “I have no idea how you can afford this much heroin.” “We all have secrets. That includes Tony. I’m getting a fair few bucks outta him because I walked in on him and Daphne going at it. I’ve pretty much got stuff everyone in the company. You know Addison Moore?” She asked. “Yeah.” He said. “Prostitution. Lenore Gibbs, arson. Joshua Arnett, child pornography. Tim Woods, he’s gay. Sandy Peterson lied about her age. I could go on, but I like to hold onto secrets. I’ve even got some info on some of the contestants and others coming to the convention.” “And what’s the heroin for? You bought a shit ton of crystal last week.” “A woman likes to have herself a few secrets too. Let’s just say that LA is about to have an epidemic of illicit activity, just in time for the convention.” A sickening smile crossed her face. “Sounds pretty decent. That thing about Tony and Daphne could come in handy. How come you know so much?” He asked. “How come you are so interested? I’ve got the money here.” She reached into her bag. “1… 2… 3…. 4. 5. 6. 7. Here we go… 17… 29k.” She handed it to Sanjay and crossed her arms as he counted. “It’s all there.” She muttered. “Just checking.” He raised an eyebrow, that was a lot of money, and a lot of heroin. He passed the briefcase to her. “Go.” He said. “Tear the city in two.” He listened to her footsteps receding. “... And bring me a slice.” ' ' ' Now. ' ' ' Sean stood outside of LAX, the wind whipping against his naked legs. Maybe wearing shorts to LA was not a good idea. The first thing that was noticeable about the taxi rank was the smell. It was true to it’s name, and stunk of gasoline and coffee beans. The sounds of cars, taxis and buses driving, braking and honking was all that he could hear, with the exception of a woman beside him who was talking far too loudly on her phone. “Well tell Diana that if she doesn’t want to work hard, then she shouldn’t deserve a raise. Sally! Sally, listen …” His phone buzzed in his pocket and he sacrificed the warmth of his jumper to check the notification. Jessica Beverand: Text message. He entered his passcode and checked it. Hey bb! Thx for the birthday wsih. Hope you’re the winner. Followed by an emoji face blowing a kiss. Hope to hear from you soon. Sean smiled and turned his carrier signal off. He couldn’t text out of the UK or else it would cost him big time. He put the phone back into his pocket and his nearly numb fingers into his jumper as he waited for his driver. ' ' ' Two hours later. ' ' ' KP leaned over the balcony attached to his room. He had been pleasantly surprised to discover that his room had a balcony, a Ultra HD TV and what he thought was the most luxurious bathroom that he would ever shit in. The view from the balcony was just stunning and he could see both the city Los Angeles (with a nice lookout of Santa Monica Pier), and the sapphire blue ocean. He took a deep breath and smiled. He was happy. Whether he won the award that he was nominated for (an award so wordy, he had not membered the name of) or not. ' ' ' Jamie stretched his back out as he lay back onto a lounge. He looked over to Sean who was frowning. “Something wrong?” He asked, unable to comprehend what could possibly be wrong. “Yeah. My driver was late and I hear that he got fired because of that.” Jamie frowned. “That sucks.” He looked away, desperate for something to say. Fortunately, Relic got the cue. “I heard that PBR, Sab and Purry aren’t coming. I have no clue why they wouldn’t want to come.” “I think someone had a wedding, and someone else had a funeral or something. Weird how things end up. I wish they were here, it doesn’t feel right. Besides… I was kind hoping for Zurry to become canon.” They both laughed. Zain walked into the lobby, curious. “Hey.” He said, smiling at them. “Oh hey.” Jamie said, still laughing. “Hey Zain.” Sean laughed. “I still can’t believe that this is actually happening. All of us here, finally meeting. I feel like we don’t deserve the award to be honest.” Zain took a seat. Behind him, a red-haired woman much younger than Albany approached. “That’s because you don’t.” She spat. Jamie frowned. “Excuse me?” Sean asked. “None of you deserve this award because you are all amateurs.” Zain turned to the others with a weird expression on his face. “I repeat.” Sean started. “Excuse me.” “None of you have done more than write amateur crap for a hobby. It’s pathetic. There is no way that you will get this award. George R.R. Martin, Robert Kirkman and John Green are the judges. There is no way that they will let you get into the finals and even if you find a way to bribe, blackmail or screw your way up there, the American public has to vote on the winners. They will chew you up and spit you out. They will not vote for a Canadian, a fag or a someone social reject with too much hair.” Jamie, Zain and Relic just sat there with their mouths wide open. Jamie tried to say something but just stopped. “But if you do want a chance at winning that award, I can help.” “Who are you?” Zain asked, speaking for the others. “My name is Leslie Johnson.” She smiled. She pulled out a notepad from her pocket and flipped it open, writing. “I’ll give you my number, so if you want a shot at winning, call me.” She tore the piece of paper in three and gave it to them. “But just remember, only one can win.” ' ' ' Soon after Leslie Johnson had left the lobby, Jamie, Zain and Relic retreated to Zain’s room. “What do we do?” Jamie asked. “She’s trying to trick us.” Zain declared. “She doesn’t want to help us. Why would she?” “Maybe she hates the other nominees, or likes an underdog.” Jamie replied. “Why are you defending her?” Zain asked. “I’m not! I’m playing the devil’s advocate.” He raised his voice a bit too loudly. “She had a point. A lot of America is homophobic, it’s not just LA voting and I couldn’t possibly win if they knew.” Relic muttered. “How did she even know that I’m gay?” He sat down on Zain’s king-size bed. “You can find anything about anyone on the internet.” Jamie said. “Well.” Zain said. “What are we going to do?” “We can’t call her. That’d be wrong.” Jamie said. “I’m not going to lie about myself.” Sean replied. “Think of the publicity. What looks good? What looks bad? It all matters.” “How about we sleep on it, and think about this later?” “Agreed.” Jamie and Relic left. Zain threw himself onto his bed and took a deep breath. ' ' ' Don’t tell me what to do! And don’t tell me what to say! Please! When I’m out with you! Don’t put me on display- KP paused his music and pulled out his earphones. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an eCigarette. Just as he put it in his mouth, someone pounded on the door. “Fuck.” He muttered under his breath as he pulled it out and adjusted his black leather jacket. The person knocked on the door once again, falling forward as KP pulled the door open. She glared at him. “Watch it.” Albany spat out, adjusting her hair back into place. “Yes?” KP asked, breathing out carbon dioxide. “There’s a meeting in the lobby. You need to come down. Marnie’s taking the roll, go sign it.” “Yes ma’am.” KP grabbed his room key, phone and wallet and closed the door behind them, rolling his eyes. ' ' ' The lobby was filled with people. There were at least thirty-five in total. Max West and Jamie stood in line to sign in at the desk. “So… How have you been?” Max asked, failing at small talk. “Yeah pretty good. I’m wondering if one of us from the wiki wins the award, will there be tons of new people joining?” “I hope not. I mean new people are awesome, but it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be our small little thing anymore.” Across the lobby, Mali, Willow and Danny spoke. A balding man in his forties scratched his head. “Okay everyone!” Albany called out after a crappy attempt at whispering. She looked around and waited for everyone to pay attention. “I’m just going to ask when I call your name, if you could please go outside to the cars ready for transportation to dinner at Mirage.” Albany lowered her eyes to read her clipboard. “DeVries, Nathan.” Albany said. Zain looked around to find Nathan in the crowd. He had not seen him before. A few seconds later, a balding man in his mid forties stepped forward, still scratching his head. “Hi Albany.” He said. She squinted at him. Behind Zain three girls were giggling. “Oh my gosh, he’s so handsome.” One of them said. “So hot.” Another said. “I’m think I’m going to be pregnant.” The third girl moaned. “Oi!” Albany snapped her fingers at them. “Get those girls outta here.” A security guard began to usher them out as a driver ushered Nathan into one of the cars. “So that’s Nathan.” Relic asked no one in particular. “Yeah..?” Danny asked himself. “Mali.” He hopped up off of his chair and walked through the door. Danny pat him on the back as he went. “Max West? Jamie. Sean. Danny. Tanya. Zain.” They moved towards the cars. In the end, Jamie, Zain and Sean sat together, while Danny, Tanya and Max took another. Willow and Killer remained in the lobby as KP and a woman called Elise were called out. “How are you going Willow?” “Natasha Edwards. Jose Montoya.” “Really tired. I was really excited last night and I had an early morning flight. Plus I stayed up till like one on chat last night.” Chat had been crazy last night. Pretty much every member of the wiki was on, even some old members that had left came to wish the everyone good luck. “Peters, Carter.” “This is going to be great.” Killer smiled. ' ' ' The security guard closed the door. With the help of Tanya, Danny did his seatbelt up. “The middle ones always suck.” He muttered, offering her an awkward smile. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Tanya asked, smiling at Max. “Max, Tanya. Tanya, Max.” “Max?” “West.” He answered. “Woah. That’s such a cool name. I’m stuck with bloody Foster as a last name. Everyone asks if I’m adopted.” Max nodded really awkwardly so Tanya continued. “Because of that show The Fosters where the foster kids’ last name is… Foster. I am actually adopted, but it’s a coincidence and I have straight parents. In the show they’re… gay.” She took a breath. “So what do you do Max, you must’ve finished school?” “Aah, I’m in college, uni actually.” He thought for a moment. “I’m doing a creative writing class but there’s a lot of pressure and most of the chapters I pump out are longer than the short stories we write so it’s kind of hard. Danny, you do writing too?” “Sure do bud’. But it’s not my main focus. Electrical engineering and philosophy, like poetry.” Tanya cracked a smile. “What? Really?” Max was intrigued. “No! Of course not! Poetry is bullshit and I couldn’t ‘engineer’ things for my life. I like music. That’s actually how Tanya and I met. She sings really well and-” “Let’s hear!” Max exclaimed. “Oh no I-” “Sure can you. There must be some song stuck on your head.” “Well there is this one...” She couldn’t remember how she heard it. “I don’t know what it’s called.” “And so I cry sometimes when I’m lying in bed, just to get it all out what’s in my head something something and I scream at the top of my lungs-” ' ' ' Four days ago. ' ' ' “What’s going on? And I said ‘hey yeah yeah yeah! Hey yeah yeah’ I said ‘hey!’ What’s going on? ‘Hey yeah yeah yeah! Hey yeah yeah’ So I cry sometimes when I’m lying in bed-” The music stopped and her phone started ringing. Sanjay was calling. She answered. “What is it?” “You said you’d be here. Where are you? I’m freaking out Felicity.” His voice was agreed with what he said. “I’m nearly there, don’t panic.” He hung up and the song resumed playing. Then someone pulled her hair back and she felt a sharp, cold blade slash across her throat. Gasping for air, she let her phone fall to the ground and fell beside it. A pool of blood emerged. ' ' ' Sanjay leaned up against the wall of the blind spot. It had now been two deals in a row that she had been late. Three would have been a pattern. He hoped it didn’t come to that. A few seconds later he heard footsteps. “Thank god Felicity! I was wondering. Felicity?” He peaked around the corner and gasped as a woman rolled some yellow and red ball towards him. When it stopped beside him, he realised that it was no ball. It was Felicity Zambezi’s head. “Oh my god! What the fuck!” He exclaimed. “She got cocky.” The woman stepped beside him and Sanjay flew back a few feet. “Stay back!” He exclaimed, reaching inside his bag for a gun. A few bags of DTS fell out instead. “Don’t bother.” The woman held up his gun. “How’d you?” “I pulled it from your bag as you came in.” He remembered passing her in the lobby. “I was her boss. My name is Aimee Sutton and the city of LA is about to fall.” “What do you mean about to fall?” Sanjay asked. “I’d leave. Like tonight.” “Why?” “Do you even know what you’re selling. DTS victims literally exhale asbestos. People are going to die.” “What about her? You can’t just leave her body lying around!” Sanjay glanced over to Felicity’s body. “The cleaners are coming.” ' ' ' Now. ' ' ' The restaurant was fancy. Green and Gold ribbon was dangling across arches and arbors in the beautiful balcony seating. Adrien sat across from Willow. “I remember that it wasn’t a coincidence.” Adrien smiled. “I didn’t want to go swimming, but I felt myself running towards the pool. I didn’t know why, but I felt that something was wrong. And there she lay, face down.” Adrien remembered it like it was yesterday. Paula had fallen in and with every ounce of his strength, he had managed to pull the fatso out. Willow smiled. “I’ve never had to do something like that. I hope I never need to. It sounds scary. The thought of having someone else’s life in your hands, I mean.” He grabbed his coke and took a sip. “No beer?” Adrien asked. “Nah, I hate alcohol. It just kills brain cells.” Adrien rolled his eyes and took a sip. Soon, he had finished his second drink and a waitress come over. She had a piercing texan accent. “Hiya. Would ya like another.” “Ah yes please.” She collected his glass. Beside Adrien, Max stood up. “Ineedtopee.” He didn’t allow Adrien the time to say ‘okay’ before he raced away from the table. “I wonder what that was about.” Sean muttered to Adrien. “Relic.” Jamie stood up. “Can we talk?” “Yeah..?” He stood up and followed Jamie to where Zain was standing. “It’s about Leslie, right?” He said. “No it’s about Jordana Creasy.” “Jordana Creas-” “I’m kidding. Yes of course it’s about Leslie Johnson. I want to call her when we get back. Just to hear her out.” Jamie said. “Wait, what?” Zain suddenly stood up straight. “Dude, she called me a fag.” Relic said. “And said Canadians never win.” Zain added. “I’m just thinking that maybe we should call the number. I mean it couldn’t hurt.” “Fine, Jamie. You do that. But there is no way that I’m calling her.” ' ' ' Max approached the elevator and was greeted by an guard. He gave the guard a smile and tried to step past him. “Where are you going.” The guard blocked him. “To get some fresh air.” Max tried to step past him again. “Uh uh. That’s what the balcony is for.” Max stepped forward and was once again blocked. “You can’t keep me here against my own will.” “Fine.” The guard stepped to the side. “Heh.” Max muttered as he pushed the down button and hoped in the elevator. As it arrived on the ground floor, Max quickly towards the lobby’s side door. “Excuse me, sir?” The receptionist asked. “Are you a guest?” “No. Not at this hotel.” He found the side door and exited it. An Indian man in his forties greeted him. He had dark black hair and lot of it. His olive skin seemed to only draw attention to a pinkish scar that covered his right cheek. “Max is it?” He dropped his backpack to the floor. It was black with a red and white star on it. “Yeah. You can hook me up with it?” The man nodded. “Who are you?” “Rahl Chandra. I go by my last name.” “I was told that if I took it, I’d win the competition. He said that there was an inside man on board. Someone that could guarantee me it.” Rahl Chandra once again nodded. The leaned down and unzipped the smallest pocket in his backpack. “His name’s Sanjay. All you have to do is chew it and you’ll win.” “But why? What will it do?” “You won’t be hurt, if anything it might taste a little crappy, but just have a breath mint before.” Chandra handed him a small bag of a brownish substance and a small tin of peppermint eclipse mints. Max took them both out of his hands and popped three mints into his mouth. He quickly chewed and swallowed them. He opened the ziplock bag and took a deep breath. He pinched a few grams and put it in his mouth. Chandra wasn’t lying, he could taste how horrible it was through the mints. It tasted like tobacco. Max had never tasted tobacco but he somehow knew the taste. It also tasted a little sweet, but that was masked by the putrid tobacco and minty taste. “If I were you, I’d stay away from my friends for a while.” Chandra zipped up his backpack and slung in on his back as he began walking away. “Why?” “You’ll see. I’ll tell Sanjay you put you through to the finals.” “Wait, only the finals? I was promised that I’d win.” “It’s been changed to a public vote. There’s only so much that he can do for you. Good luck, Max.” And he left. Credit Song '' 4 Non Blondes - What's Up?'' ''Category:There Will Be Blood Category:Issues Category:There Will Be Blood Issues